Christmas decorating - Kitchen

The top of the frig

This room is continually changing and probably will be as December continues.  If I get some yo-yo's made in time, they will go in the kitchen, too.  I may work on them today.  I'd planned to go into town but the country roads are a little slick with snow this morning... a good day for domestic creativity.

Yes, I did decorate a lot this year but I needed more Christmas than usual.  By getting down every container, I found items I thought I'd lost last year.  Hubby had stored that big container on a different shelf.  I have collected Christmas items since I was a teenager and now I'm a grandmother... so even though I have downsized the items a lot, there are plenty left (mostly my very favorites now).  I've promised the future Mrs. Christopher she can go through them next Christmas.  :)

To answer questions from yesterday, the candle lamp in the last picture came from Goodwill (so many Christmas decorations were found while thrifting and at garage sales through the years).  I made my large lamp smaller by removing the top part of it, easily done just by unscrewing that part of the lamp in this case.

Lots of little cuties here, including the Cabbage Patch doll that was a Happy Meal Christmas toy when Stephanie was little.

This scene makes me smile just looking at it.

The "milk" in the milk bottles is really salt.  :)

The top of the bread box.  I stitched the embroidery when I was first married.

The vintage looking whisk and spatula are tree ornaments bought on clearance at Cracker Barrel a couple years ago.  They stay out all year.

Finally... this isn't exactly Christmas-y but I thought I'd share the change I made on the kitchen wall.  I used to have a favorite large piece of artwork there but I moved it to the "room formerly known as Christopher's".

I was concerned about replacing it without changing a lot of other items but our favorite print of the lighthouse in Holland, Michigan (where we lived for nearly nine years) and the trivet that was a gift from my daughter fit in the space perfectly.

This print of "Big Red" brings back lovely memories.

Hubby and I love having the print where we can see it often.  I promise to take a picture when I get the yo-yo's made and hung!

All of my pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Tweaking the china cabinet

I promised a respite from "dish love" posts but I had to show you what a gift from a friend got started this week... a complete redo of the china cabinet!

Old Britain Castles brown transferware plate

Old Britain Castles brown transferware bowl (left) and bread & butter plate (right)

My friend, Kristi, gave me her lovely brown transferware from Johnson Brothers called Old Britain Castles.  I just love it!  It is everything I love about transferware and more.  I don't think the brown transferware is being made anymore but a lighter pink version is on Amazon.  I love this brown, though.

I decided to display the various brown transferware patterns on the two shelves (top photo).  They mix and match perfectly.

I still have a few pieces displayed on the buffet, too.  In this photo the platter is Johnson Bros Friendly Village, the mugs are Churchill's Vintage Game, and the bowl is Johnson Bros Old Britain Castles.

Thank you dear Kristi!  I will cherish the dishes and take very good care of them.

Photos:  They can be enlarged by the click of a mouse.  :)

More scenes of autumn

I am so glad I picked up the camera and snapped these pictures a couple weeks ago.  Within days the leaves were on the ground!   I can now see my neighbor's red barn from the front porch.

There is a feeling of impending winter in the air, which I really don't mind except I still have a dark kitchen!  I never thought that would still be happening so long after the lightening strike.  We're hoping the electrician can at least fix the kitchen lights with the insurance money left, he is to check it out soon.  Thankfully, everything else is back to normal and replacements were all shipped and received.

 

 

I just love the way autumn sunlight makes everything a shade of gold and night become... crimson?

Above is one more picture from "Downtown"...

I am listening to Christmas music on Pandora as I write. Yes, I heard parts of the country were expecting snow!  :)

Added clarification:  The deductible is taken from the repair costs, the insurance company ordered most of the new appliances and had them shipped to us (Christopher opted to receive cash for his sound system).

Even more dish talk...

Okay, the above picture has nothing to do with dishes but I think it is beautiful.  It was taken standing at the end of my gravel lane and looking down the county road.  I have more pictures to share next week.  Most of the leaves are now on the ground...

I love hearing about your great thrift store, garage sale, and Goodwill deals.  It doesn't happen often but once in awhile I get this "feeling" that I should stop by Goodwill or a thrift shop, usually I just can't get it out of my head.  Sometimes I give into it and find exactly what I've been wanting, too!  I think those times are usually God winks... when He wants to show us He is listening in a rather unorthodox manner.

I say usually and sometimes because to be quite honest... it's the same feeling I get when the subjects of chocolate or pizza or ice cream land in the nest of my thinking and attempt to stay there until I give into temptation. ;)

I knew a Friendly Village teapot existed so I did a search on Amazon.com and found one at a great price.  (Teapots can be outrageously expensive and I don't even look at those.)  I saved up Amazon credit to purchase it, thinking by having a teapot I can use the thrifted china for much more than just dinners.  As some of you know, I am a huge believer in having a proper tea at home once in awhile, even if it is for one or two (these days that being hubby and moi'... or just moi' and Victoria).

I haven't seen Friendly Village at Tuesday Morning but they carry Churchill china and this time of year they have one or two of their autumnal place settings featured.  As shared before, I found the bowls really cheap on their clearance racks after Thanksgiving one year.

My tastes have changed through the years, too.  I cringe to think of it now but I once saw a complete set of Friendly Village at Goodwill and passed it by.  At that time I was still using my wedding china for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I wasn't thinking of adding any more dish sets.

But then I began to take a second look at the brown transferware and I realized they would be great not only for Holidays but for the entire season... September through November.  I have long decorated for autumn and I love the way the dishes add to the "look".  This year I plan to add them to a shelf in the china cabinet as Miss M. (soon to be Mrs. Christopher) is getting these...

...as a wedding present from her future mother-in-law.   Except for the teapot, which was my very first pretty teapot and a gift from Stephanie when she was in college.

My inexpensive Christmas dishes

My "Christmas" dishes are a very cheap set of Pfaltzgraff (not from their expensive line of stoneware) that I bought at a Meijers store long ago.  I only have four place settings and I use the plates all year long because they are so nice and big.  They are also cheerful and make me happy... which I need more than just at Christmas time.  I usually use my wedding china for Christmas Day.

China cabinet last year

There will always be my collection of pretty china cups and teapots.  Most I purchased really inexpensive while thrifting but some are gifts from beloved family and friends... like my birthday (July) cup Stephanie bought me at Old Sturbridge Village when we spent a lovely day there and the pretty floral cup Sally Clarkson gave me when we finally met in person.

I also have the china I inherited from my mother-in-law (which was her mother's good china).  It will most likely be passed down to one of my granddaughters.

Stephanie at a tea room two or three years ago

Faith and Elisabeth at the same tea room

The girls are growing up!  At the tea room we visited in September.

We are raising a new generation of tea time and pretty china enthusiasts.

Stephanie and I have had different favorite tea rooms but we both agree the ones we love the most (as far as decorations) are those which mix and match the china (teapots and teacups).  I wish I'd taken pictures at the tea room near her which we visited the first time I flew to New England.

Elisabeth was just big enough to join us (small enough for us to be a little nervous about her using the fine china cups) and each place setting and every teapot were different... so cute.  Unfortunately, it went out of business before I visited again.

That same tiny girl now makes scones on a regular basis for her mother!  Time goes so fast, we must make memories while we can.  I love the way Stephanie has tea time with her children (if it includes a strong cup of coffee along with a sweet scone, I expect their Daddy will gladly take part, too).  ;)

Now... for all those who do not share my obsession love of dishes... I will go onto other subjects, at least for awhile.  ;)

The many faces of brown transferware

There were so many comments about the transferware, I thought I'd show you individual pieces.  I love the way they "mix and match" so much, I am happy that I've found it necessary to collect a piece at a time.  Most were found by thrifting.

The bowl is Thanksgiving by Churchill.  I bought six of them at Tuesday Morning on an "after Thanksgiving" clearance sale a few years ago at a fraction of their original price (they were $2.00 or $3.00 each... can't remember exactly).

If you have a Tuesday Morning store near you, anything they sell is already less than the original (and often expensive) price so a clearance makes it really affordable.  I call it the upscale Big Lots.

The plate underneath the bowl is called The Brook by Franciscan.  I only have two of them and they are beautiful!

 

The teapot is Friendly Village by Johnson Brothers (perhaps the most recognized of all brown transferware in America), the teacup is Royal Mail by Myott,  and the mug is Vintage Game by Churchill.

I purchased the teapot from Johnson Brothers on Amazon.com by saving up credits (again, thank you!!!) and the mug is one of two purchased at Tuesday Morning this year on sale for about $4.00 each.  I am normally not a fan of fine china mugs but these have a beautiful "feel" to them.

Here is the Royal Mail by Myott plate.  I have one of them hanging on the wall for the autumn season.

This is not a "view only" collection, they are my autumn dinnerware and the teapot and mugs will be used all year (the Myott cups will be used sparingly to prolong their life).  I believe the Royal Mail china was continually put through the dishwasher by their previous owner as the dishes and cups have very fine hairline cracks but their price was inexpensive enough that they were still worth the addition to my collection.

I hand washed most fine china, even when I had a dishwasher (although my wedding china by Noritake seemed to take the dishwasher fine but I only used it a few times a year).

When not in use, the plates have a home on the top shelf of my kitchen china cabinet with a paper plate placed between each individual plate to protect them.  I think they are even more special when brought out seasonally.  There are many more patterns of brown transferware and I will be keeping an eye out for them, especially at thrift stores!

Just in case you wonder:  The reason I tell you the price on objects is to show you... if I can create Beauty in the home on my limited budget... you can, too!  I use gifted funds and Christmas-birthday gifts for Books and Beauty... and Coffee... and sometimes Tea.

Hubby has given me a gift certificate to my favorite Primitive Decorating store for over a decade (except when we lived in Detroit)... back when it could be $75 or more when we were prosperous and now often $25 which I combine with their after Christmas sales and coupons.

Thrifted pretties and a Happy Thanksgiving

Lots of harvesting going on in my neighborhood.

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!  I still remember driving I-90 towards New England a year or two ago and picking up a Christian radio station but the problem was... I didn't know it was out of Canada.  So... I had this Twilight Zone feeling when they were talking about Thanksgiving and it was October.  Had I somehow skipped a month in some strange alternate Universe (I must stop watching the SciFi Channel)?

Then as I listened a little longer I realized the radio waves were Canadian and not American... so I suspect many Candians would say that I was indeed in a strange Universe.  ;)

It has been a long time since I have shared some thrifted goodies.  The silver objects at Goodwill have been way too high for me lately but I was fortunate enough to stop by one day when they had the short (and squat) tea server for $3.99 and his tall coffee serving brother for $4.99.  I loved their shapes (and sparkle).

The cup and saucer is part of a few place settings of transferware I found at a friend's "knick knack" shop (my mechanic's wife).  It is part of a place setting called Royal Mail by Myott.  I have no less than four different kinds of brown transferware now making up my autumnal table settings but they work together perfectly.

The large round platter and the teapot are both Friendly Village.  I'm always on the lookout for mixing and matching dishes.  They make me happy just looking at them.  I'm hoping to find more Friendly Village or Churchill place settings and completer sets (bowls, etc.).  It's my one dish collection that I'm still working on (other than the fact that no one can have too many pretty English teacups).  :)

I don't stop by Goodwill or thrift stores often these days (my friend, Linda, told me about the Myott transferware after visiting that store) but I'm hoping to be there at the right time to find some objects... at the right price!

I was thrilled to find this vintage magazine rack at Goodwill for $3.00.  If my husband put up too much of a fuss about the "busy" decorations on it, the opposite side is just plain red.  So far he hasn't said anything...

 

I was reading through a Fall 2010 copy of Mary Janes Farm when I came across these gorgeous leaves.  As they fell out of the pages, I remembered the walk where I found them in New England (with Stephanie, Sarah Clarkson, and one or two of the grandchildren).

I had a frame I wasn't using (originally from Goodwill) and some scrapbook paper (ditto) so it took only five minutes or so to put together this decoration.  I keep it propped on a shelf in one of my tall bookshelves (which is why Bonhoeffer's face is peaking around the corner).

Also in a frame from the thrift store... this pretty matted print is the souvenir I brought home from Colonial Williamsburg.  I love winter scenes and this one had just been added to the collection at one of the stores when I came upon it.  Thank you, Stephanie!  It's not very big (the print is 5 x 7 and with the mat it is 8 x 10) but it looks perfect in the space where it has found a home.

I plan to eventually paint the frame black so it goes well with a previous Christmas gift from my husband... and the gift from last year (below)...

Can you tell I love artwork?  Both were purchased on after Christmas sales at my favorite downtown primitive decorations gift store.  So, technically they were not "thrifted" but they were "thrifty".  :)

Someone had asked about the red basket I keep my "most used at the moment" cookbooks in... I bought the Country Market basket two or three years ago at a Gordman's store... full price (gasp).

I think everything else in the picture is from garage sales and thrift stores except the pretty bowl (a wonderful gift from a blog friend).  It is the same pattern as the bowls my mother-in-law used to have.  The rolling pin used to be Stephanie's and the red & white potholder may have been one Linda gave me (she knew I was collecting them).  They all come together in such a way to make me smile!

Downtown on an October morning

I had to go Downtown to the Farmer's Market this morning to buy raw honey for winter bread baking.  In spite of all the glorious veggies, I stuck to my budget and came away with three pints of raw honey... and one package of pecan sticky buns from the Mennonite Lady as promised to my husband.

So... enjoy the Beauty and I must add that indeed... that last picture was taken on a Downtown street as I walked back to my car (standing in the middle of the street with the zoom lens!).  :)

 

 

When one has a very large University in their town, one may come upon their research in the most unusual of places.  :)

I hope you enjoyed just a little of my Saturday morning Downtown.